Emotional Thomas propels Celtics with 53
Boston takes 2-0 series lead on Washington • Rested Warriors overpower Jazz in Game 1 triumph
Isaiah Thomas capped a career-high 53-point performance on what would have been his late sister’s 23rd birthday with nine points in overtime as the Boston Celtics defeated the Washington Wizards 129-119 on Tuesday night.
Thomas became the fourth Celtic to record a 50-point game in the playoffs as Boston took a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Only John Havlicek (54 in 1973) scored more in a Celtics’ playoff game.
“It just wasn’t a good day for me with it being my sister’s birthday, me being in the hospital for three or four hours today,” said Thomas, who underwent oral surgery Monday to fix the tooth he lost in Sunday’s Game 1 victory, then went to the hospital again on Tuesday to reduce the swelling that occurred around his mouth.
Chyna Thomas was killed in a single-vehicle accident on April 15, a day before the Celtics’ playoff opener. On Saturday, Thomas utilized a small break in the playoff schedule to fly home to Tacoma, Washington, to attend her funeral.
Al Horford had 15 points and 12 rebounds, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder each scored 14, and Terry Rozier got 12 off the bench for Boston.
John Wall finished with 40 points and 13 assists to pace Washington. Markieff Morris had 16 points, Marcin Gortat totaled 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Bradley Beal also scored 14 for the Wizards
Warriors’ 106, Jazz 94
Three takeaways from Golden State’s
Game 1 victory over Utah: The Jazz deserve a mulligan The NBA playoffs have a way of making us a prisoner of the moment.
Every game seems like the new basketball truth. Every trend seems destined to continue. Yet often times, it isn’t – and it doesn’t. All of which is to say that Utah isn’t dead just yet.
Before anyone deems the Jazz doomed after just one game, one in which they had separate scoring droughts of more than four minutes at the start of the first quarter and the start of the fourth, it’s worth remembering some context here that might help explain their lackluster start.
While the Warriors were resting for eight days after sweeping Portland in the first round, the Jazz were coming off a brutal seven-game series that ended with a Game 7 win over the LA Clippers on Sunday.
“It’s obviously a big adjustment from the style of the game we just played,” said Jazz small forward Joe Ingles. “We just finished that game Sunday afternoon, and obviously put a lot into it to win that series, and the quick turnaround – it is what it is. I think after this game, we’ll be able to look at the tape and figure a lot out, and we’ll be a lot better on Thursday in Game 2.”
The stifling of ‘The Stifle Tower’ Say what you will about how the Warriors are such a tough matchup for Utah center/ Defensive Player of the Year candidate Rudy Gobert – and they are – but there’s more to his struggles than that. Gobert, the Frenchman who anchored this Jazz defense that had the NBA’s third-best rating during the regular season, is still hurting from injuries suffered in the first round.
To recap: Gobert hyperextends his left knee and suffers a bone bruise just 12 seconds into Game 1, then returns in Game 4. In Game 6, Gobert sprained his left ankle late and missed those final minutes of Utah’s 98-93 loss. He played in Game 7, but fouled out in just 13 minutes.
“I’m getting better and better; I think I’ll be better next game,” said Gobert, who had 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in 31 minutes.
You didn’t have to be an expert to see that Gobert wasn’t moving like his agile self in Game 1 against the Warriors. Couple that with Golden State’s perimeter-heavy offense that makes life so tough on someone with Gobert’s skill-set, and you get lowlights like his second-quarter dreidel impersonation. After the Warriors’ Stephen Curry (22 points, seven rebounds, five assists) escaped Dante Exum and Boris Diaw through a series of screens, he had Gobert running in circles on the left wing before darting to the rim for a reverse layup.
This wasn’t the same guy who lived up to his nickname, “The Stifle Tower,” all season long. Draymond shines You hear it all the time from NBA types: defense sparks offense. That was certainly true late in the second quarter. After a Warriors’ turnover, Exum found himself alone on the break with only Green between him and the hoop. He stalled for a moment, then tried to feed Jazz forward Gordon Hayward as he cut to the rim. But Green swiped the ball from Hayward and found Kevin Durant on the other end for a soaring dunk and a 58-41 Warriors’ lead.
In all, Green had a vintage fill-outthe-box-score outing: 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, two blocks and a plus-19 rating. What’s more, Green – who was suspended for Game 5 of the NBA Finals because he racked up too many flagrant foul points in the previous playoffs – still has no flagrants or technical fouls in this postseason.